


Contrasting Colors

by impermanent



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Chapter 2 is not safe for work, F/F, Homeworld - Freeform, for rupphire bomb!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-20 08:55:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4781363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impermanent/pseuds/impermanent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A set of mini stories for Rupphire bomb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monochromatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for day 1: Beginnings

         Gems were a stunningly colorful race, from sparkling Turmaline to glassy Gaspeite, but somehow the world known to this tiny Sapphire had been completely monochrome. White washed walls with scarce windows that looked out onto a desolate planet of grays and blacks, as if its inhabitants had sucked their very color and life from deep within their home world’s core, leaving a dead, colorless husk. Sapphire found that a very probable outcome.

         The halls were thick with oceans of washed out Pearls, their pastel hues blending together and graying in comparison to the brilliant blue of the little Sapphire who wove between their long legs, the frills of her dress brushing past them with haste as if she were superior. She was not. 

          Sapphires were supposed to be something incredible, rare and formed only in the most perfect of conditions, second only to Diamonds, even if the gap in authority between the two could span an entire solar system. They were tacticians; the brains behind every great general, the warning that every gem heeded.

            This one, however, did not ring out to the same tune of the others. She was small, even for a Sapphire, with hands clasped shut tightly around documents she pretended held more importance than the ones carried by elegant Pearls above her. It was likely they did not.

            ‘Defective’ was a kind way to put it, but gems were never known to be kind; ‘worthless’ was the accurate word. She had never seen the battlefield, never stood at the right hand of a commander, never seen the surface of any other planet than this damnably bleak one that she was told to call ‘home’, even if it was not where she had been made. Her own stunning blue would likely be the only color she would ever know until she was inevitably crushed, either by some invading species or a rebel gem. She did not know how it would end exactly, her control over the future vision she shared with her kin was clumsy, but she was sure it was with a flash of beautiful, blinding red like nothing she had ever seen.

            That was, until this very moment. If she had a heart, it would have stopped. A startling smear of red rushed through the halls far in front of her, fast and frantic, knocking into Pearls who only looked on in concern because _this kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen._

            Her first instinct was to get behind a Pearl; they were expendable, after all, she thought, as if she was not expendable herself.

            “What is that?” The little gem whispered, making no gesture towards the unusual commotion because shielding her hands seemed critical at this moment. _That gem was red, she was bright, brilliant red—_

            The Pearl startled at the question, and hesitated for a second, watching her peers slowly, anxiously, drain from the polished halls, before politely kneeling down to Sapphire’s level.

            “A Ruby.” She said, hushed with a hand cupped between her mouth and the offending gem down the corridor, who was now yelling _something_. Sapphires were not meant to observe, they were meant to predict, and thus were not blessed with superior senses.  

            “What are they for?” Sapphire pressed, keeping her keen and only eye on the gem, who had now drawn a weapon of some sort.   _Red, she’s red!_ She warned herself, but she couldn’t manage to break away. The color was so stunning against the dismal void around them, just like her own. It was beautiful.

            “Front lines.” The Pearl straightened up, backing away cautiously as all the others did the same. “They are ill suited for escorts, or anything else, due to their unpredictable nature.”

            “What is she doing—“ But the Pearl was gone, as were all the others, leaving the world filled with the bright, warm color that came careening down the hall straight for its contrast.

            “You-You gotta help me!” was the frantic plea that echoed against the stark white tiles along with the tapping of quick, tiny foot falls.

            Sapphire backed away, pressing her hands safely between the cold wall and the rest of her form, the soft clink of her gem against the tiles a shock of warming to what she only assumed was to come. This was it, it had to be. She had never learned to draw her weapon; there was never, and would never be in the foreseeable future, a need for it. She was defenseless, weak, and without expert control over her future vision, useless.  

            “Please!” The Ruby’s voice was high and stained, and the hand reaching for Sapphire radiated a horrible heat. “Th-They’re coming for me—“

            “Don’t touch me!” Sapphire shrieked, sinking down to the pristine floor, hiding her hands behind the plume of her dress in a final attempt to protect her gem.

            The Ruby backed off instantly, red hands up in frantic surrender as she gave the hall way a once over. “I-I-I won’t hurt you, ok?” Her eyes were wide and fearful, and her hands shook as she let down her summoned gauntlets, leaving herself defenseless, with her beautiful red gem exposed in the palm of her hand.  “Just get me outta here! Y-you know this place, you know where it’s safe—“

            If she had a need for breath, it would have been taken away. Sapphire’s hands shot out from behind her dress, both clutching around the Ruby’s wide palm. Her skin positively _burned_ on contact, but the heat defeated her fears, grounding her senses, and clearing her usually jumbled mind.

“Y-you're just like me…” She muttered to herself, fingers delicately tracing around the Ruby's facets. She had never seen another defective gem, always assumed that she was the only mistake to ever come into this horrible, cold, and colorless world.

            “I-I know its weird, but I can explain things to you _when we’re safe.”_ Her hand closed around Sapphire’s, tight and searingly hot as heavy footsteps thundered through the hall all around them, their owners unseen, but Sapphire _knew,_ for the first time in her relatively short life she was absolutely sure of what was coming, and it wasn’t pleasant.

            Sapphire clutched their hands together even tighter, pressing her own off center gem against the Ruby, who drew in a surprised breath at the solid, vulnerable contact. “This way. I’ll keep you safe.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking a tiny break from Such is Fate to participate in the Rupphire bomb. All stories will be very short, as i have worked on nothing in advance, but hopefully they will still be enjoyable!
> 
> Also, my views of how homeworld would be are HEAVILY inspired by Rhinocio's beautiful Homeworld T series, which you should all go give a nice long read if you haven't already.


	2. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for day 2: Human Family AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's about 4 hours late for day 2 of the bomb, but its nearly 4000 words of these little rocks getting it on, plus some sappy, plotless romance thrown in, so maybe that'll let this slide. 
> 
> This chapter is absolutely NOT safe for work

      ‘I want to talk to you’ the sticky note had read, written in Sapphire’s pretty, scrawling handwriting, and in glitter gel pen no less. If it weren’t for the worry swirling around in her belly, Ruby would have spent her entire day off coming up with teases and jeers to greet Sapphire with for her retro and childish pen choice.

      The words, however, had occupied her thoughts all morning. ‘I want to talk to you, so be sure you’re awake when I get home.” Followed by a cute little heart, as if that would dispel the usual connotations of that sentence.

      Ruby folded up the little piece of colored paper, wet fingers leaving smears in the ink as she followed the creases from the fifty or so times before now she had done the same; it was starting to tear.

      Sapphire wasn’t the kind of person to leave something so serious hanging in the air, abandoning Ruby with just a hint and her own thoughts so she would worry herself sick all day, but Sapphire wasn’t exactly a master with words, either. She was blunt and to the point, but not cruel, and Ruby knew her well enough to understand that this ‘we need to talk’ was likely something harmless, like another scolding about leaving her shoes in the doorway, not the infamous _we need to talk_ talk. But still, her stomach was in painful knots of anxiety, and the near boiling bath water was hardly helping. The bubbles, in a bottle that read ‘relaxing lemon verbena’, had helped even less.

      Ruby sighed, sliding her back along the slick sides of the tub until the bubbles were up to her chin, their smell thick and cloying in her nose. “’Relaxing’ my ass,” she muttered, huffing a clear path in the thick suds around her, “More like sickeningly sweet.” She took a deep breath, through her mouth to avoid inhaling more of the noxious vapors, squeezed her eyes shut, and dunked her head under the water. It did little to wash her hair, her tight curls repelled most of the water, but the numbing silence and suffocating warmth had been a failsafe coping mechanism since high school. 

      She came up only after her lungs were screaming for air. She burst through the thick film of bubbles, rubbing the suds from her face with the backs of her hands. “God, Sapphire, you’ve got an old lady’s taste in soap.” She muttered, wiping the last remaining bubbles from her eyes before opening them to the steamy room.

      “Well, I am nearing thirty.”

      The chuckle sent Ruby flailing to stay above water in her start, spluttering as the taste of that awful soap got in her mouth during the fight; it smelt bad, but it tasted horrible. “S-Sapphire, I-“ She tried to scrape the taste off her tongue. “I thought your gig went till late tonight.” Her voice was calm, now that the initial startle of Sapphire's unexpected, but not undesired, company had faded.

      “The pianist was ill.” She explained simply, turning to the steamy mirror to begin the process of undoing her hair. It always amazed Ruby how small of a bun Sapphire could wrap her hair into, despite it being thick and long enough to be a strangulation hazard when they slept side by side. It was like magic, watching her pull pin after pin out, only some gnarled and bent by the strain. Those were tossed straight into the garbage.

      “It’s not like you to take a bubble bath.” Sapphire commented, her voice bland as ever but the way she caught Ruby's gaze in the mirror put the teasing tone in for her. 

      Ruby quickly broke eye contact in their reflection. 

      “It’s not like _you_ to leave sticky notes around like a house wife.” Ruby muttered back, staring pointedly at the heat reddened tops of her knees that poked out from the barricade of suds.

      “You’re home now, so spit it out already.” Her hands clenched into fists, snuffing out foamy bubbles in their grasp. She wanted to get this out of the way, assuming it wasn’t as bad at the ideas swirling around in her head; Sapphire did always say she overreacted, after all.

      “I don’t want to ask you something important when you’re stressed.” Sapphire’s earrings hit the counter with a soft clink, turning her attention back to the mirror and combing her fingers through any knots in her hair left by the pins.

      “Yeah, but it’s this ‘something’ you need to ask me that’s stressing me out in the first place!” Water sloshed in the tub as Ruby lurched forward, grabbing the rim in an attempt to catch Sapphire’s attention away from her task. “You can’t just tell me that we need to talk and expect me to not worry.” Her voice reverberated harshly in the enclosed space, but Sapphire didn’t wince.

      “It’s nothing to worry about, I promise.” Sapphire said in her low, stern and maddeningly clam voice. “We can talk once you’ve calmed down.”

      “I am calm!” Ruby shouted, and even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t true. Her fingers curled in her hair instead, pulling and twisting as she slowly slid down the side of the tub with a groan.“I’m calm.” She said through gritted teeth.

      Ruby could tell Sapphire had her eyebrows raised just by her tone of voice. “Love is about compromise, Ruby.”

      “It’s not compromise if you’re the only one getting what you want.” Ruby grumbled, bottom lip nearly submerged in the bath water as she slowly, slowly sunk down further.

      Sapphire was astonishing, she was the love of her life and Ruby wouldn’t change a single thing about her if given the chance, but damn it all if she wasn’t infuriatingly from time to time. Ruby would usually say that her lover was confident, sure of herself, intelligent, grounded, but when they were having a disagreement, the only words that came to mind were ‘stubborn’.

      Sapphire frowned at Ruby’s reflection in the steamy mirror before a sly smile twitched at the corner of her lips. “I could sweeten the deal for you.” She offered after a quiet exhale through her nose. The sway in her wide hips was exaggerated as she made her way over to Ruby, undoing the first few buttons on her top in stride before placing her palms flat on the tub’s slick rim, leaning down to Ruby’s level; the flick in the girl’s eyes, first to Sapphire’s face, then to her partially open shirt, didn’t go unnoticed.

      But Ruby turned her head away, instead facing the tiled wall and crossed her arms over her bare chest in defiance; there was no point in doing so to cover herself. They had been together for nearly a decade, and Ruby didn’t have much to look at, anyway. The motion was purely to tell Sapphire that she wasn’t going to budge on this little spat, not this time. 

      “ _Don’t you try to sway me_.” She grumbled, pulling her arms around herself tighter in an attempt to hold firm. Sapphire was, in a word, irresistible, but yet Ruby still tried.

      The girl only smiled, the dark wine color of her lipstick making her lips look even fuller, even softer and more luscious. Ruby couldn't remember turning her head, but apparently she had, because she was not watching slack jawed as Sapphire undid the rest of her top.

      Sapphire had mentioned to Ruby sometime before why she always wore the prettiest, laciest things under her clothes the nights of her shows. It had been something about how it made her feel ‘beautiful’ and ‘confidant’, to which Ruby had of course replied that she’s _always_ beautiful, _always_ radiating confidence, but Ruby couldn’t quite remember the conversation at the moment. Honestly, she was having difficulty remembering a lot of things: why she had been so anxious just a moment ago, her own last name, the pain from the headache given to her of Sapphire’s heavily perfumed soaps.

      “I’m not trying to sway you, Ruby.” The teasing lilt in Sapphire’s voice was like caramel, thick and sweet and made Ruby’s mouth go dry.

      “It’s a compromise,” She continued as her nimble fingers tugging the zipper on her skirt down, and slowly, deliberately she pulled the garment down over the curve of her hips, sliding it over her soft, thick thighs before letting it drop to the bath mat.

      Ruby knew she was making a show of this. She had watched Sapphire undress plenty of times and this slow, sensual slide of expensive fabric over the blossoming curves of her body was not how it usually went. The norm was for Sapphire to come home at some ungodly hour of the morning, feet sore and tired from her elegant heels, flop down onto their bed and shimmy out of her dress as if she were a sea creature trapped in a straight jacket.

      This display, however, was greatly appreciated.

            Sapphire was working on her bra now, eyeing Ruby as she slipped the lacy straps off her shoulders first, then managed, Ruby didn’t know how, to make the awkward reach for the clasp in the back an elegant motion.  She stood tall, nearly bare in front of the other who simply gawked up at her, as if she had been blind before this very moment.

            Sapphire’s panties were down next, dropped from her hips in one smooth motion as she bent over, back flat and both hands braced on the ceramic rim of the tub again as she leaned in to give Ruby a quick kiss to her forehead. “Scoot forward.”

            Ruby did so with such vigor that a sloshing wave of soapy water was sent over the side of the tub with the movement. She craned her neck to watch Sapphire test the water with an outstretched foot, sighing comfortably at the warmth before lowering herself inch by beautiful inch, obscuring her body from Ruby’s prying eyes under those damnable bubbles. Ruby didn’t know if she could dislike the stuff anymore than she did right now.

            Wet locks of hair clung to both of them in the small space as the water level rose, fanning out around Sapphire like molten sliver. She leaned forward, laying her forehead against Ruby’s broad back with a content sigh and wrapped her arms lazily around her lover’s waist under the suds. “See? Compromise.” She breathed against damp skin, her breath chilling the droplets skating their way down the slope of Ruby’s back.

            “I-I don’t know, I still kinda feel gipped,” Ruby said around her lip, chewing on it as she pushed for _just a little more_. The incentive for her patience was a pretty view, after all, and no matter how nice this was with Sapphire’s soft, comfortable chest as her pillow, her long legs stretched out on either side of Ruby's boxy hips, she couldn’t really _see_ much, couldn’t really put her hands on anything more than Sapphire’s skinny ankles or high heel calloused feet. Not that she didn’t love those parts of her.  

            Sapphire hummed, the vibrations spreading to Ruby’s back, tumbling a shiver down her spine. “Did you think this was all I was going to give you?” She asked, voice faint and relaxed, but still Ruby could hear the smile in it.

            “I know it’s hard for you to be patience, Ruby.” She cooed, sliding her wet hands up Ruby’s sides, following the subtle angles of her waist, skipping over her chest and going straight for her strong shoulders where Sapphire’s hands lay flat, gently rubbing over the skin before digging her thumbs in, easing away tight, sore muscle.

         “And even harder for you to relax.” She chuckled as the girl in front of her positively melted into her, going limp in her hands with a pleasured groan. Sapphire’s hands were small, but practiced in their art. Dating an athlete, and someone as prone to injury as Ruby, had forced them to be as much.

         “I can lend you a hand with that, though.” Sapphire had to bite her cheek to keep from grinning at the disappointed whimper from Ruby when the rubbing stopped, instead taking a slow slide south down her shoulder blades, dipping under the water again around her sides and resurfacing at her ribs, palms pressed flush against soapy skin before making their way even higher.

            Ruby’s breasts fit in the cups of Sapphire’s hands perfectly, with just enough extra room to _squeeze_ and the action made the girl go limp.

      “Are you starting to steal my lines, Sapphire?” Ruby tried to tease, but her voice was low, soft and ending on a high note as Sapphires air chilled finger tips brushed over her nipples. Sapphire had said something about how smaller chested women were more sensitive, and Ruby believed every word of it; just a touch so light as that would easily get her going.

      “No.” Sapphire said bluntly, leaning in to press her lips to Ruby’s shoulder, laying kisses and lipstick smudges in a trail up her neck, stopping only once her path was block by thick, unruly curls. “I’ve always felt actions speak louder than words.” She snickered, pressing an open kiss to Ruby’s neck, reveling in the feeling Ruby's pules quickening under her lips before she pulled the tender skin between her teeth.

      Ruby jumped, making more waves in the slowly cooling bath water before she eased into the rough touch, tilting her head to the side to give Sapphire an easier time. “A-are you sure you’re not just too shy to _talk?_ ”

      Sapphire’s gentle nipping took a turn for the rough as she bit down, drawing a quiet yelp from the other. “Are you trying to bring up that note again, Ruby?” She asked sternly, glancing down at the bruise on Ruby’s neck that was reddening quickly. Maybe she was a bit too harsh; she pushed another tender kiss against the mark in apology.

      Ruby bit her lip again, sending a hand to rub at the tender bruise on her neck after Sapphire had kissed it, mumbling a defeated “maybe.” Followed by a slightly louder “I’m just worried, ok?”

      Sapphire’s sigh was calm, but Ruby still caught it. “Don’t be.” She said, and she placed another kiss to the side of Ruby’s neck.

      “I want to help you _relax_ before we talk.” Here lips were pulled away from the tender kiss and into a subtle smile before both her hands dropped into the water with a splash, securing their place on the tops of Ruby’s thighs, and gently squeezing into the hardened muscle there. Her fingers crept slowly, sending a chill up Ruby’s body as they made their way closer and closer to her hips, taking a gentle curve to the inside of her thighs, one of the only soft spots on Ruby’s body, though she had gotten considerably softer since college.

      “S-Sapph, you don’t have to calm me down like this,” Ruby said around a dry swallow, but her head had already tipped back onto Sapphire’s delicate shoulder, eyes closed as her legs inched apart to the small, intruding hands which stopped, easing up on the gliding force they had before.

      “Do you not want me to?” Sapphire hesitated, drawing her fingers away from the softness of Ruby’s inner thigh.

      Big, warm hands were quick to cover Sapphire’s unsure smaller ones, spreading her fingers over Ruby’s legs once again with a hushed “God, yes I want you to.” Ruby took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, filling her lungs with lukewarm air and another whiff of the perfumed bubbles. “Just don’t want _this_ to be part of the compromise.”

      A little puff of laughter came from above her, and Sapphire’s hands started to move on their own accord again. “It’s not.” She reassured Ruby, gripping her strong thighs tightly before bringing her left hand back to the surface of the sudsy water, grabbing a soft handful of Ruby’s chest while her other hand lingered underneath the water, fingers toying closer and closer. “It’s not often we both have the day off together.” Her voice was like velvet, and so was her touch.

      Ruby’s nerves jolted at the first careful press of Sapphire’s prodding fingertips between her parted legs, moving with practiced accuracy to the angles she knew Ruby loved the most.

      “J-just—“ Ruby bit back her voice, fighting the embarrassingly high pitch as Sapphire’s skilled fingers start to rub against her _just right_. “Just make it quick so we can talk.” She managed all in one short breath.

      Sapphire grinned with satisfaction, slowing her motions under the water to a near standstill, drinking in the echoes of Ruby’s whimpers as if she would never hear the sound again; she was sure, however, that she would be hearing them again that evening. 

      “Sure you’re not just desperate?” and Ruby quivered at the smooth, low drawl of Sapphire's voice, confidant and powerful, and so, so hot.

      Ruby had found out _very_ quickly in their relationship that the beautiful innocence and church girl aesthetic Sapphire carried with her was about as genuine as the color of the girl’s hair. That is to say, a bold faced, but beautiful, lie.

      Sapphire was bold with her intimacy, in control but never controlling, and Ruby absolutely loved it. She had never dreamed of herself submitting to another, always felt like her place was in the pilot’s seat, and with anyone but Sapphire, that was the only place she felt comfortable.

      But Sapphire had this knack for soothing her, cooling her usual fire to a slow, smoky burn that was thick and sweet and _warm—_

      Ruby’s entire body shuddered with a jolt of pleasured electricity as Sapphire's skilled fingers pressed firmly against her. It seemed she had committed to this finishing fast deal, or at least Ruby hoped she had, because that wonderful numbness was spreading through her limbs, the calm before the storm she knew was coming quickly.

      “Sa-Sapphire—“ Ruby’s breath comes in short, staccato puffs as the girl behind her started gently nipping at her neck and shoulders again, being sure to avoid the tender mark from earlier, but lingering along the thundering line of Ruby’s pulse. Sapphire could feel the pounding echoed against the hand cupped at Ruby’s breasts, and again in her own chest.

      Ruby’s hands grabbed for Sapphire’s legs on either side of her hips, trying to find any way to anchor herself as her muscles begin to tighten, slowly turning her into a solid, shaking mess of gasps and hiccuping cries of Sapphire’s name.

      “Don’t hold back on me, Ruby.” Sapphire whispered against the shell of her ear, words coaxing and each one positively dripping with desire.

      It was that voice, silky and hushed, coupled with another expert flick of Sapphire’s fingers that did her in, sending the first warm, soothing wave of pleasure crashing over her.

      Her orgasm was a slow build to a wonderful crescendo, sending shocks of gentle, mind numbing pleasure through her nerves to make her toes curl, fingers twitch, and muscles in her stomach spasm. She bit down on her lip, quieting the cries in her throat because every sound she had made thus far had seemed so loud against the tiles.

      Sapphire knew how to bring Ruby down better than if Ruby herself were in control. She knew just when to ease up on the pressure, knew the exact moment when the stimulation became too much on Ruby’s suddenly overstimulated body, and when to pull away entirely, holding Ruby close to her chest and running soothing hands up and down her sides, whispering gentle encouragements to her that Ruby never had been able to fully catch over the hammering sound of her heart in her ears and her desperate, winded gasps for breath interrupted by a string of pleas that were all “Sapphire, Sapphire, _Sapphire,_ ”

      Sapphire quieted her, carefully letting her slip down until Ruby’s head was cradled against Sapphire’s ample chest, whispering what sounds like “Breathe, Ruby.” And chuckles of “You’re just too cute.” As small hands loop around her shoulders to rest over her fluttering heart, pressing firm against it with the rapid rise and fall of her heavy breathing.

      “So wh-what is it?” Ruby’s voice came out only half as shaken as she felt, but it still drew a sweet natured sigh from Sapphire.

       “Ruby, you can’t even breathe yet.” Sapphire chides, fingers tracing delicate shapes against Ruby’s collar bones. The act does hardly anything to cool Ruby down, but her eyes cast up at Sapphire, unfocused and hazy but still pleading and needy, break her resolve to at the very least wait until Ruby seems capable of cognitive function.

       “Well…” She starts, breaking glazed eye contact with her lover in a nervous flick of her dark eyes. “We’ve been together eight years now,”

       “Eight and six months” Ruby corrects, voice rough but sure of herself, breathy as she still tries to slow her pules; if she weren’t quite so physically fit, Sapphire could easily be the death of her.

      “Yes.” Sapphire giggled, hand raising to pet through Ruby’s damp hair, head ducked down in what usually hid her face, but from Ruby’s reclining perspective, only brought her loving smile more clearly into view.

      “Seeing as we’ve lasted this long,” Sapphire’s long fingers twisted in Ruby’s hair absently, tightening her wet curls to stick out at odd angles, “…Do you think we’re ready to start a family?” 

      All the steady breath Ruby had finally managed to fill her straining lungs with was gone in a flash, her heart going from sixty to zero in the same moment.

      Sapphire’s mismatched eyes were trained on her in sheepish worry, fingers still pulling and twisting in Ruby’s hair tightly, as she waited for an answer with baited breath. They had spoken about this before, briefly, enough to get the information across that, yes, they both wanted children  _sometime_ , but maybe Sapphire had jumped the gun a bit.

      Ruby’s dark eyes widen, staring back up at Sapphire before a grin so big it was absolutely _painful_ pulled a her lips, and her hands grabbed for Sapphire's, holding them between her own and against her still racing heart. "You'll be a  _wonderful_ mom, Sapphire." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me father for I have sinned, and also not written anything *~*dirty*~* in forever. Thought the "human family au" prompt would be a good way to get into the swing of it before things get steamy in Such is Fate, so hopefully that can be much, much better (and more drawn out) than this rushed practice.
> 
> Also i just now (2 days after posting this) got wind that nsfw wasn't exactly allowed for the bomb so...oops. live and learn I guess.


	3. Shaken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for day 3: Fusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its VERY late, but I had a catastrophic hard drive failure that deleted this and all this weeks homework, among other things, so i had a lot of catching up to do with more time sensitive things than the bomb. I will push myself over the weekend to finish the other two prompts, though!

The planet’s surface quaked with the pounding of war cannons, the air set alive with the metallic clash of swords. Sapphire’s nerves, usually ranging from a cool calm to icy indifference, quivered as she ran, tiny feet stumbling over the planet’s rocky, disheveled surface as she abandoned her comrades.

 Cowardice was as good as treason among her kind, Sapphire knew thiswell, but she would rather be damned a traitor than die a war hero, because stronger than the rumbling of the planet under her feet were the tremors of her hands, clasped shut so tightly around the little red gem between them that her entire body rattled with the force.

Concentration was impossible with the loud reverberations of mortars, their explosions blinding her sight with bright flashes of reds and yellows, sending waves of ashy smoke and glittering dust into the atmosphere, blotting out the stars and creating cover for enemies and treacherous canyons in the planet’s rocky shell. There could be danger for them _anywhere_ and the tiny pulses of heat from the gem held in her shaking hands wasn’t enough to steady her thoughts. Paths of possible futures wound around each other in a labyrinth, blending together, converging and breaking off in a hectic, nonsensical array.

She had been with the other gem for so long now that she had forgotten how bleak existence was alone. Without Ruby, she was lost.

Sapphire’s retreat was a series of sharp, stumbling turns around blind corners, stopping only once the thunders of war felt like nothing more than the shifting of tectonic plates, the blinding light of fired shots only the twinkling of not so distant stars, and the dust kicked up by the fray just a simply storm on the dark horizon.

It was with weary legs, trembling hands, and a favorable twist of fate that Sapphire settled like soot to the ground, curling in on her hands with a feeling in her chest like none she had ever known and a burning in her throat like solar wind.

She had found safety for them and now that she had, there time to be afraid.

The first sob wracked her body in a shudder to challenge the rumbles in the distance, shaking her from her very core until she was doubled over. The second choked her with a useless gasp of the planet’s smoky air, and the third brought a burning sting to her eye.  Tears bubbled out from under her windblown hair, whipped away in little droplets by the strong gusts.

A faint red glow shown between the cracks in Sapphire’s fingers like a tiny beacon, but she still had to check, even if she _knew,_ was absolutely sure she had never let go, never so much as loosened her grip from its near crushing pressure on the little gem. Her hands were still held close to her, body looming over them like a shield as she peeked between her fingers. She saw no futures with empty hands, but it was hard to ignore the horrible outcomes swirling around in favor of logic. Or, at least it was hard alone.  

Her fingers traced delicately along the facets of Ruby’s gem, going slowly, methodically checking for cracks or scratches. With each perfectly smooth, warm inch her nerves were cooled, winding paths vanishing into dead ends because Ruby was here, she was unharmed, she was _safe_.

Sapphire held onto the feeling of warmth in her palm, closing her fingers around it to press close to her own gem with that familiar electrical spark of contrasting elements shooting through her fingertips. They were the same in composition, only a single element involved to alter coloration differed between the two, but somehow Ruby was _worlds_ different. Sapphire had briefly wondered, between the quiet warnings of ‘they’ll come for you, too.’ And ‘we have to stay together’ s of their first meeting, if all Rubies were like this, fiery and brave and _passionate_ , but it quickly became clear that they weren’t. No gem was.  

  Sapphire tried to clear her mind of everything but the weak, rhythmic pulsing, the heat that steadily rose from warm to hot to scorching and Sapphire’s hand spasmed in an instinctual reflex to protect her own gem, dropping Ruby’s to her lap where it glowed with a red hot heat.

A puff of billowy smoke and a light to rival this solar system’s dying star, one that absolutely gave away their position, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Sapphire was no longer alone. 

“Ruby!” She called louder than she thought for tiny form was capable of, and fumbling hands grabbed for the other’s, clashing their gems together with a twinge of pain.

“Are you hurt?”  were the first words Ruby spoke, wide eyed and anxious as hands, ones wider, stronger than they had been before, turned over Sapphire’s, tracing the blue gem in the palm of her hand because all Sapphire could get out was a hiccupping sob and a vigorous nod of her head that left her hair in disarray.   

“I was so lost without you.”  Sapphire’s fingers laced between Ruby’s, pressing that heat against her and for the first time in hours, she could see again. “You came back so quickly.”

“Did you really think I’d keep you waiting?” Ruby smiled. She was the only gem Sapphire knew who did. “You know I’m—“

“Fuse with me.” The words were colorless and abrupt, but Sapphire’s tightening grip showed her urgency.

Ruby’s smile settled like the dust around them as another cannon fired in the distance, expression falling into a blank stare that slowly morphed into worry. “S-Sapphire, you know _we_ can’t do that.” Her words were shaky, but her hands held firm. “Defects can’t fuse.”

All the visions careening through Sapphire’s mind, all the ones where they _tried_ , ended in blackness as she took Ruby’s hand in hers, like in that exact moment in possibly time she ceased to exist. That didn’t sound so bad.  “We can.”  

“Ruby, I…” She untangled their limps, standing to her pathetic height and dragging Ruby up with her. “I saw so many horrible out comes for you, for _us._ I can’t stand to let any of them become reality.”  Sapphire’s feet carried her backwards, taking Ruby’s hands with her until their reach could hardly make it, just their fingertips touching.

“Together we’ll be safe, we’ll be _strong,_ Ruby.” Sapphire’s hands fell by her side as she stepped back that final step, breaking their contact. “You can protect us with your strength, and I will guide us with my vision—“

“Ok.” Ruby’s words were whispered, but to Sapphire they rang out louder than the mortars. She reached out to Sapphire, offering her hand palm up. Even with the venerable display, her hands were unshaken. “We’ll do it.”

Their dance was interrupted by uneven terrain and the booming of battle behind them, shaken by the excitement and fear that _this might not work_.

It was with a stumble slowed by the planet’s weak gravity, and Ruby’s firm hands there to catch her that it happens. Their light mingles together, bright and clashing against one another until it melted into a beautiful array of shades of red. It’s the last thing Sapphire saw, just as she had predicted, before everything was black as the starless sky above them.  

One eye peeked opened, nervous to the ever growing crashes and explosions creeping closer, then two, stunning Sapphire with the dizzying perception of depth before a third opened to a world of fates and unobtainable futures, but it was so unlike Sapphire’s own future vision. It was _colorful,_ clear and crisp with no twists or turns or mismatching parts.

“You---We are---“ Their voice as startling, low and calm like Sapphires but so full of Ruby’s energy. For the first time, Sapphire felt a smile on her lips.

Two hands, slim and elegant but powerful and strong ran along the planes of their face, the warmth of Ruby’s gem against her left cheek and the chill of Sapphires on her right.

Their hands were drawn back in a jerky motion, overcome with the need to not just feel but _see_. It was a challenge to steady both hands, shaken with excitement and ill controlled, but it was worth the effort. The facets of their gems reflected their image in varying hues of red and blue. The dim light twinkled and shifted in the prisms of their facets, their reflection distorting and wobbling with every tiny movement, but the sight was amazing.     

She was lovely. _They_ were stunning. _Garnet was beautiful._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was kind of a continuation of the first prompt I guess?
> 
> During the Diamond authority's attempted purge of defects (what Ruby was referring to in the first chapter), the war took a turn for the worse and suddenly they needed all the gems they could round up. Defects and Pearls were expendable and were great for drawing fire. 
> 
> I never gave Ruby and Sapphire's first time fusing much thought because I'm PRAYING the show will tell us exactly how it went, so this one was hard for me. However, I don't at all think they fused often (if at all) before coming to earth. Garnet says it's "her planet", and the only other gems to do that are ones who were made there (Amethyst and Steven) so I feel like it happened once or twice for a wonderful, but brief moment on homeworld and became who they are on earth.


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for day 4: kiss

           To Ruby and Sapphire, Earth was a refuge. It was bathed in all the color, life, and vibrancy that gems had stolen from all the other planets either of them had set foot on. It was a safe haven, with no corrupt authority and no distaste for what they are or wanted to be. Compared to homeworld, Earth was a utopia, and to Garnet, Earth was home.

           Its inhabitants were curious, bipedal creatures with relative symmetry who invented, innovated, and ruined the world around them. They fought wars against their own kind in the name of intangible things, and developed hierarchies based on irrelevant psychical attributes. They were so much like gems.

           There was one thing they did, however, that was so much different between the two, so unlike any creatures they had come across before. Humans cared for each other, and were unashamed to show it.

           In a word, Ruby was amazed by these displays of affection. She would watch them from afar for hours, sometimes shyly with Rose at her side, but often times by herself. She would mimic them when she felt no one was looking, but with someone like Sapphire, nothing was out of sight.

           It had started simple, with Ruby coming back to their temporary base, muddy hands clasped around fistfuls of the planet’s flowering plants.

           Humans give pretty things to pretty people.” Ruby had said and shyly offer them to Sapphire, crumpled petals, roots and all. If she didn’t know Ruby already, Sapphire would have taken it as an insult.

           The imitations continued from there on out, and Sapphire couldn’t help but think she was at fault; she never had the heart to tell Ruby how ridiculous it all made her look, not what she looked so happy.

           Sapphire had been offered various gifts with mumbled explanations attached to them, and touched in a number of ways, all of which weren’t entirely as silly as she had first deemed them to be. This ‘cuddling’ she had taken a particular liking to.

           It was with Ruby’s warm arms wrapped around her waist, the gem’s broad chest a comfortable cradle for her head, that the tentative question came.

           “Sapphire?” Ruby would always start like that, and the high pitched inflection of her voice always brought a chuckle past Sapphire’s lips.

            “Yes, we can try it.” Sapphire gave permission before Ruby had a chance to ask. She should know by now that the answer is and always will be ‘yes’.

           Ruby’s fingers twirled in the curls of Sapphire’s hair; it was another thing she had picked up from the people, and even if Sapphire was pretty sure humans only stroked soft animals, not each other, she enjoyed it well enough. “This ones kinda weird, though. I don’t think I fully understand it.”

           Sapphire hummed for a quiet moment, just the sound of her soft voice and this planet’s peculiar ocean around them. “I don’t see myself hating it.”

           Ruby took that as a go ahead; the best way to learn was by doing, anyway. She nuzzled her face into Sapphire’s billowy hair, trying to reach her exposed shoulder, but unwilling to unclasp her hands from around Sapphire’s little form to save herself the effort; Sapphire had a lot of hair to dig through, but she smelled of the ocean breeze and cold night air, so it wasn’t unenjoyable. With a wrinkle of her little nose courtesy of Sapphire’s hair tickling her face, Ruby pushed her lips to Sapphire’s shoulder.

           The touch was _hot_ against Sapphire’s skin, hotter than the touch of Ruby’s hands or any other part of her that Sapphire had come into contact with. It was startling, like when she’d first held Ruby’s hand in hers, but not unpleasant.

           Sapphire hummed in contentment, relaxing back against Ruby's heat and letting her head loll to one side. “It’s not weird, it’s nice.”

            “Really?” Ruby asked excitedly, but she was already back at it, nuzzling and kissing her way from Sapphire’s delicate shoulder all the way up her neck, squeezing her middle tightly.  

           A tingling shiver ran up Sapphire’s neck and forced her to smile, making her shoulders shimmy involuntarily before a little gasp of laughter broke past her lips. “R-Ruby!” Sapphire wiggled in Ruby’s strong hold, which only tightened when she kicked her little legs with a squeal of laughter, layers of her skirt rumpling around her knees in the halfhearted struggle.   

           “It’s not supposed to tickle.” Ruby drew back, disheartened even if the sound of Sapphire’s laughter was more beautiful than any music the humans of this planet played. She had never seen this action answered with giggles, only with heartfelt emotion and embracing arms. Irritated confusion spread over her face, and her hands fell limp to Sapphire’s lap. “I gotta be doing this wrong.”

           “I’ve seen humans do that to each other’s hands.” Sapphire offered, still shaking off the tickling feeling creeping up her neck.  Ruby’s touches left warmth in their wake, and it was hard to forget the feeling with the heat still clinging to her skin.

            “Oh, I’ve seen that too!” Ruby clambered to her feet excitedly. Maybe what she seen done to necks and shoulders was different from what was done to hands. Certainly, it was different than what she had assumed was the gentle press of lips to lips because that didn’t make since; humans used their mouths to breath, after all. She was still working on figuring that one out.  

           Ruby offered a hand to help Sapphire up out of her nest of puffy skirts and sand, which she took for the contact and the satisfaction she knew it gave Ruby. The war had been at a standstill for a few hundred years, but Ruby still reveled in being her protector.  

            With Sapphire’s dainty hand still held in Ruby’s, she dropped down to one knee in a gracious bow, the kind legions would pledge to Rose and the whole ordeal became suddenly overwhelming to Sapphire. This kind of thing wasn’t meant for gems like _her_ , it was for gems like _Rose_ who were strong, gracious, and _balanced—_

            “My perfect Sapphire,” Ruby snickered, kind mockery heavy in her tone with bowing her head, but Sapphire didn’t need to see to know Ruby had the same dopey smile on her face she always had during these experimental exchanges.

            “Be serious, Ruby.” Sapphire hid her smile behind her free hand as Ruby pressed her grin against the back of her right. Heat flooded through Sapphire’s fingertips at the soft touch. 

            “Like this? I still don’t think I understand.” Ruby muttered against the smooth back of the other's hand, but as she glanced up, she knew it didn’t matter. The shy smile from Sapphire was enough to set her in her ways. Even if this wasn’t how it was supposed to be, it was right in her book if it could draw an elusive smile to Sapphire’s face. 

           Sapphire chuckled, muffling the sound behind her hand. Ruby looked ridiculous, kneeling in the soggy sand and smiling into the back of Sapphire’s hand. The gem was so small already, cutting her height in half made her look absurdly tiny.

           Sapphire lifted her hand, intending to take it back because this prolonged contact of Ruby’s lips was starting to become uncomfortably hot against her skin, but instead the motion drew Ruby to her feet, clinging to Sapphire’s hand like a life line. 

           “Let me show you what it's like.” She picked up her skirts, bunching the layers around her knees, flashing Ruby a rare view of her long, lean legs before kneeling down herself, dropping her dress back around her in a fluffed pile. She held out her right hand, palm up as she did for only Ruby.

            Ruby hesitated, hands closed in loose fists at her sides. It was hard to do much more than look on, star struck; Sapphire wasn’t someone meant to kneel before _anyone,_ but still, “you’re so beautiful…”

            “What?” Sapphire laughed, a playful smile on her lips as she looked back up at Ruby from under the windswept curtain of her hair.

           “Uh—“ Ruby shook it off, thrusting her hand into Sapphire’s with nearly enough force and sloppy accuracy to knock their gems together. The thought made her wince, but Sapphire always hard to startle.  

            Sapphire pressed her soft lips to the back of Ruby’s hand without a word, and the touch was bitterly cold. She kissed down her wide fingers, and the little shivers and shakes from Ruby didn’t go unnoticed as she used both her hands to turn Ruby’s over, making her way up Ruby's palm before pushing a final kiss to the sparkling red gem in the center. It sent a spark down Sapphire’s spine, but she expected it by now. It was something that always happened with a delicate touch between the two. 

            A shiver ran up Ruby’s arm at the biting cold, dissipating into a subtle chill by the time it reached her chest, but it still felt as if her whole body was frozen in place, unable to move under the expectant gaze Sapphire cast up at her.

           “Y-yeah, I can see the appeal of this, I guess.” She muttered, voice shaken by another chilling kiss pressed to her palm.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my doc for this, all that's written under "day 5: anything" is a big, bold "no" so I'm officially copping out of day 5 because it's "anything", so i choose scribble these two little rocks and probably get too frustrated to finish, because at this point i'm just too late to finish the bomb properly. But hey, 4/5 isn't the worst.
> 
> String this one along with chapters 1 and 3, i guess. 
> 
> I always felt like next to Rose, Garnet understood humans the best, and I think its got something to do with their innate desire to display affection for one another in the same way that Ruby and Sapphire can't stand not being Garnet. Homeworld obviously thinks of fusion as disgusting, as mentioned by Jasper and hinted at by the Clusters, so seeing alternate ways of displaying their affection for one another probably held Ruby and Sapphire over in the time between coming to earth and choosing to stay as Garnet forever. 
> 
> Also I'm in love with the idea of Ruby not quite grasping the concept of a kiss on the lips and kind of just...putting her mouth against Sapphire's like a dead fish. That, and kissing someones gem would be vastly more intimate to them than a kiss on the lips would be.


End file.
